In the second episode of The Last Courtesans of Bombay, a young mujra dancer confides in independent journalist Kunal Purohit, "I can’t really tell my mother how things today are a world apart from the times when she was a mujra dancer." And this, in a way, sums up the core theme of the newly launched documentary podcast series by The Swaddle, a digital platform that covers the latest in health, gender and culture in India. The four-part series, Purohit shares, took months of research — gaining access to the secretive world of tawaifs in Mumbai, and winning their confidence being the biggest challenge. Four tawaifs — two of them retired and two still in the profession — finally gave in to his doggedness, giving him insights into the rich history of their profession, its focus on education, and what led to its stigmatisation, making it a shadow of its former self.

Kunal Purohit